


Rekindle

by Maebee



Category: Naruto
Genre: Families of Choice, Gen, adopt ALL the orphans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-10 21:04:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15299994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maebee/pseuds/Maebee
Summary: Naruto's parents are gone, anyone who knew them aren't allowed to interact with him for fear of giving away the Big Konoha Secret, his godfather's buggered off to who-knows-where, and he's miserable.Ember managed to go from small-town Indiana to Fire Country and while she's making it work without stirring up too much fuss, she does not approve of people harassing little kids. Nobody else seems willing to stop it, so sometimes you gotta be the change you want to see in the world.AKA Mama Bear Instincts, go!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I had a lot of fun writing this one evening, and liked it every time I came back to re-read it, so thought I'd throw it out and hopefully others will enjoy it. Not sure when updates will come, as I have only a vague idea of where this is going and have Life to attend to, but writing this is certainly a blast. Let me know what you think! :)

Konoha was big on security when it came to unknown nin entering the village. Unknown civilians with no chakra, not so much. So when Ember stumbled through the forest until she found the path and then followed it to Konoha’s huge gates, they waved her through without much fuss. They had no idea she had been in another world half an hour prior, and had no idea where the heck she was.

 

Ember was nothing if not practical, though.  _ Fake it ‘til you make it _ was one of her favorite sayings. When she’d fled a jerk who couldn’t take no for an answer, he’d chased her into the park, and while she wasn’t super great with a map she definitely didn’t remember  _ Konoha _ existing in small-town Indiana. Nobody else she encountered seemed to be panicking about that particular issue, so it made sense to do her best to blend in and figure out where the heck she was and hopefully stumble upon a way home. (Not that there was much waiting for her at home, save the cat she shared with her roommate, but Ember was vaguely aware that being abruptly transported somewhere where nobody knew you was supposed to be upsetting.)

 

Two months later, she’d pretty much settled in. She had a tiny civilian apartment (even smaller than her one previous, but all to herself), a decent amount of food that she could actually cook (with the help of several trips to the library’s cooking section, as this world had no concept of her regular poor college student meals such as mac and cheese and she couldn’t survive off of instant ramen alone), a small but flexible wardrobe, and a job as a bookshop assistant. Life was strange, but good.

 

Then she ran across a group of teens harassing a flippin’  _ six year old _ .

 

“What the heck do you guys think you’re doing?!” Ember demanded, stomping over to the group. The kids paused, one of them with their hands raised in a fist. Ember escalated to her best impression of the Mom Voice, which had cowed her for years. “ _ Put that hand down right now what the heck gives you the right-- _ ”

 

“He’s a monster!” The boy with the inclination to hit children exclaimed in his defense, thereby identifying himself as the ringleader. This was confirmed when the other teens gave a chorus of agreement and angry muttering. “It’s because of  _ him _ that we--”

 

“ _ I don’t care one iota what you think a little kid is responsible for,” _ Ember bellowed, conveying the distinct rage-slash-disappointment-slash-impending punishment that everyone fears from their parents in her tone. Now close to the little boy, she subtly ushered him down a side street that would take them on a roundabout way to her apartment building. Judging by the glimpse of tears and blood under that wild blond mop, he’d need a pick-me-up. “ _ That is absolutely despicable that you would beat up a kid I oughtta call the cops or your parents or BOTH see what they think see what society thinks of your horrible actions--” _

 

She continued until they’d turned the corner, then ducked down and whispered to the little boy, “Hang on a sec, kiddo!” Before scooping him up and hurrying down the street, down another two alleys, and finally arriving at her building.

 

“Alright, think we lost ‘em. I couldn’t tell if they were civilian or nin, and frankly if they had any ninja skills they could kick my butt easily, but I think my Mom Voice got ‘em,” Ember grinned, holding the door open and ushering the little boy toward the stairs. “C’mon, I’ve got some cornets left over and we need to get you cleaned up.”

 

The kid shuffled along behind her and waited as she unlocked the door to her little apartment. He didn’t enter, though. Ember glanced down, surprised. “What’s wrong, hon?”

 

A sniffle. “You… you really want me in your  _ house _ ?”

 

“Well, yeah,” Ember blinked.

 

The kid looked up, and Ember was caught off guard by the brilliant blue eyes that were flooded with tears and only adding to the tear tracks on his cheeks. “Nobody  _ ever _ wants me in their house! Or near their house! Or near people! Nobody plays with me or is nice to me and they just hit me and kick me out and you made them  _ stop _ and you’re not even a ninja and--”

 

“Whoa whoa whoa, kiddo,” Ember gently nudged him into the apartment and locked the door, then knelt down until she could meet his eyes squarely. “Let’s get one thing straight, alright? Nobody should ever,  _ ever _ treat anyone else like that. You should not be getting beat up unless you’re roughhousing with your classmates or something on an even field, because I’m sure you could give as good as you get there. Those guys were wrong. If they or anyone else tries that again, you just come running here and knock on my door, or you can find me at work. I work at the bookstore north of, um, Ichiraku’s, and I will absolutely let you in and not let anyone kick you out. Okay?”

 

The boy, still leaking tears, nodded. “Th-thank you, lady!”

 

“You can call me Ember, not lady,” Ember said. She led him to her tiny kitchen table and directed him to the chair while she snagged a clean washcloth and wet it. “What’s your name?”

 

The kid perked right up. “Naruto Uzumaki! I’m gonna be the next Hokage and then everyone will recognize me, dattebayo-- augh!”

 

Ember patiently mopped his face the same way she’d done for her younger siblings growing up-- serenely ignoring all spluttering and squirming until the surface in question was clean. What she’d assumed were scratches on Naruto’s face were actually scars or birthmarks or something; they didn’t come off with a rigorous scrub so she left them be. “Nice to meet you, Naruto. Now, I don’t have time to heat it up, but you can have one of those cornets while I try to remember where I left that healing paste. You like chocolate, right?”

 

“YE-- I mean, um, no,” Naruto mumbled. “Only  _ little kids _ like sweets. And girls. Kiba said so.”

 

Oh, right. That was another cultural thing in Konoha-- she rarely saw anyone but small(er) children and women at the sweet stalls in the market. “Well, I think chocolate is awesome, but I don’t have the energy to eat all the cornets before they go bad. Do you think you could manage to choke this down and help me out?” She opened the fridge and held out the wrapped pastry invitingly. Ember did have other snacks, but she remembered reading that chocolate was particularly good for calming nerves, and it had worked in Harry Potter, so it must be true.

 

Naruto wavered for a second, then grabbed the treat and started unwrapping it. “Well, if you really need my help, I  _ guess _ …”

 

Ember hid a grin and went to hunt down the small tube of healing paste she’d picked up a couple weeks ago. She eventually found it in the medicine cabinet (having miraculously remembered to put it back where it belongs), along with some small band-aids, and returned to the kitchen. Naruto kept chewing and watching as the woman plunked herself down on the floor and started applying the paste to the multiple scratches on Naruto’s knees.

 

“Geez, I always forget how much kids roughhouse. It’s amazing any parent can keep all y’all alive to adulthood. Speaking of, do your parents know that people are being so awful to you?”

 

Naruto’s expressive face fell. “... I’m an orphan,” he said in a small voice. Ember hid a wince. “Nobody cares about me unless they’re being mean.”

 

“Well, that’s just not right. You’ve got a new friend right here who cares, okay?” She applied the last band-aid then reached up and ruffled the boy’s bright hair. “Alright, Naruto. You’re all patched up. Feel better?”

 

“Yeah! Thank youuuuu!” Naruto jumped down from the chair and whooped. “Next time I’ll kick their butts, dattebayo!”

 

“Pick on someone your own size, champ,” Ember said with amusement, standing. “Now, I just finished work and am pretty tired, so I’m gonna sit down with a book and chill out until I need to make dinner. You’re welcome to stay if you want, or you can run along and do whatever you were originally planning. You can stop by whenever you want, alright?”

 

“I wanna read something too! It’s pretty tiring pranking everyone-- I gotta keep up my strength!” Naruto feigned a huge yawn and followed her to the small living room area, leaping into a seat on the futon.

 

“Ah, that’s been you? That’s very impressive, Naruto. I don’t know how you managed to get plastic wrap over all the big tower’s windows and doors without being seen. It sounded like a lot of people were caught in your trap, though!” Ember thumbed through the growing collection of titles on her bookcase thoughtfully. Reading was simultaneously a familiar joy as well as a quick way to learn a lot about this world, and she’d found herself bringing home at least one volume after every shift. Reading scrolls versus books was still something she was working up to, though-- she missed easily turning the pages. Finally she selected a large collection of popular children’s tales, with bonus illustrations on every page, and passed it to Naruto. “I found this a week ago. I hadn’t heard of most of these stories, so figured I’d buy it and take it home to read. They’re very good, and the pictures are just lovely. You might enjoy it!”

 

Naruto’s eyes widened as he took the heavy book and opened it on his lap. “Whoaaaa! This is huge! You’re kind of a nerd, huh, Ember?”

 

“Gotta love that total lack of tactful filter,” Ember sighed, grabbing her own thick book (with far fewer pictures, unfortunately) and sitting down at the other end of the futon. She idly found the bookmarked page and picked up from where she’d left off, letting her mind descend into the novel’s elegant prose and drowning out everything else.

 

When she surfaced a couple hours later, closing the book with a satisfying thump, the sun was starting to set. Naruto, unnoticed by Ember, had migrated across the futon until he was leaning against her side. He was also snoring, book still open on his lap. The woman grinned, carefully closing his book and setting it on the floor under the futon to be put away later.

 

“Hey, Naruto? Naruuuuutoooooo. Wakey-wakey, eggs’n’bacey!” She sang, giving his shoulder a shake.

 

The boy looked up at her blearily. “That’s a weird thing to say.”

 

“Yeah, but I grew up hearing it so I can’t help it. Are you finished reading? I thought we’d go out to dinner, because I have to do the grocery shopping tomorrow and have pretty much nothing. Unless you’ve got other plans?”

 

“Let’s go to Ichiraku’s!” Naruto cheered, suddenly wide-awake. He stumbled off the futon and ran to the door, practically vibrating with excitement. “It’s good AND cheap! It’s the BEST RAMEN EVER!”

 

Ember laughed. “Alright, alright. Give me a second to grab my wallet and change and stuff.”

 

She grabbed a clean pink shirt and jeans and ducked into the bathroom. She changed quickly, put her hand on the doorknob, then thought better of it and pulled her long brown hair into a high ponytail. Konoha evenings were usually cool, but inside restaurants tended to be rather hot, especially noodle stalls. Ember dug her wallet and keys out of her work pants pocket and then opened the door. “Alright kiddo, ramen it is!”

 

_____

 

After dinner, Ember blinked tiredly up at the strange masked nin. She rarely saw ninja wearing a mask, usually around the Hokage Tower, so it made sense that they were a kind of super bodyguard force. What didn’t make sense was one of them  _ literally appearing _ from nowhere in a swirl of leaves as she and Naruto walked through Konoha toward her apartment.

 

“... can I help you?” She ventured finally, when the nin didn’t say anything.

 

“Oh. It’s Hound,” Naruto said next to her, the enthusiastic praise of the ramen stand halting. He visibly drooped. “He’s here to take me home, right?”

 

That was directed at the ninja, who inclined his head slightly. Ember could see a shock of white hair visible behind the ridiculous and creepy mask, which was not helped by the monotone voice. “You’ve had quite an adventurous day, Naruto. Time for kids to be in bed, not out with strangers.”

 

“Ember isn’t a stranger! She was really nice!” Naruto protested. He seemed to have gone through the routine of not getting what he wanted before, though, because he obligingly walked over to Hound. The adult knelt, but Naruto hesitated and turned back to Ember. “Thank you for rescuing me back there! Next time it’ll be my turn, dattebayo!”

 

Ember smiled faintly and waved, Naruto clambered up onto Hound’s back, and in another whirl of leaves they were gone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so so much for the positive comments and kudos! Each one completely made my day and immediately started me writing at least a paragraph. Starting to get a feel for a plot, but let's have some fluff before we introduce a bunch more tension.

Two days later, Ember was kneeling to reshelve and reorganize a lower shelf of books when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Pasting the Retail Smile back on in case it was Madam Shijimi  _ again _ , she turned around. “How can I help-- Naruto!” Her smile slipped into something far more genuine. “How’re you doin’, kiddo?”

 

“Hi Ember-nee!” Naruto chirped brightly. His bright orange jumpsuit was a little scuffed, and there were leaves in his blond hair. Noticing Ember’s raised eyebrow, he flushed a little. “We were playing ninja tag at Academy today. I totally got Sakura-chan and Ino and Kiba, but Shikamaru caught me. He had to  _ try _ though, instead of cloud-watching!” He added proudly. “Not even Mizuki can get him to participate when he’s teaching us for Iruka-sensei!”

 

“Good job, Naruto!” Ember said warmly. Absentmindedly, she kept reshelving while most of her attention focused on the small boy. This was made easier when he sat down next to her.

 

“Whooooaa, there’s so many books here! How can you even read them all?!” Naruto exclaimed. “You had a ton of books, Ember-nee, but there’s like  _ hundreds _ !”

 

Ember chuckled. “I love reading, that’s all. When you find a good story that transports you to another world and sucks you in for a couple hours, it’s the best feeling ever. And a lot of books have great lessons hidden in their stories. Sometimes they take a complicated idea and break it down in a story so that it’s easier to understand.”

 

“Huh.” Naruto looked thoughtful. “I’m not so great with reading, and Kiba always makes fun of me when I try to read it out loud, but they only have us read the super boring stuff in Academy.”

 

Ember didn’t even hesitate. “Well, let’s finish this stack of books, and then you can pick out something that you think is really cool, and we can read it together, if you want. It’s hard to want to read when it’s all boring, so fun reading makes it a lot easier and is great practice.”

 

Naruto looked at his feet. “... I don’t have enough money for that.” He said in an unusually small voice. She ruffled his hair.

 

“Hey, hey, don’t look so down. I’ll buy ‘em, since I brought it up and all. It’s a gift.”

 

“A gift?” His stunned look at the idea of  _ getting a gift _ was heartbreaking.

 

“Absolutely! As long as you promise to actually try to read them. So we’ll find something really fun!” She kept her voice upbeat and cheerful, trying to hold back the indignant rage at Naruto’s guardian who apparently never got him any gifts.

 

\----

 

“Hey hey Ember-nee guess what I gooooot!” Naruto said in a sing-song voice.

 

“Hm?” Ember turned. He was waving around a slim envelope triumphantly.

 

“Hokage-’jii dropped off this month’s living ‘spenses! Sooo we can have ramen all week, dattebayo! You don’t even have to cook!”

 

Ember kept her voice even as she gently plucked the envelope out of his hands and shut the apartment door behind the boy. It was amazing he hadn’t been mugged if he’d not concealed it at all on his way over, frankly. “Wow, that’s awesome, Naruto-kun. Let’s have a look. This is supposed to last you all month, right?”

 

“Well  _ yeah _ but it never makes it that long ‘cause Hokage-’jii doesn’t know how much stuff  _ really _ cost ‘cause he’s super old and old people talk about insulation--”

 

“Inflation,” Ember correctly absentmindedly, counting out the envelope’s contents onto the kitchen table. “It means how prices go up as time goes on.” She stared at the small pile, mentally dividing it up and not liking the results. She pulled one of the pencils out of the little cup on the counter and flipped over the envelope to the blank side. “Naruto, I’m gonna teach you about budgeting which is as much a life skill as reading so stick with me, okay?”

 

“Okay,” Naruto took a seat next to her. She had to give him credit-- while he was definitely wary of what almost certainly promised to be a super boring lesson in adulthood, he was at least game to try.

 

“Awesome. Now, why don’t you help me write down how much you spend every month?”

 

That was when Ember found out that Naruto didn’t actually have a proper guardian, as she’d assumed. He’d been kicked out of the orphanage when he was four, and was on his third apartment complex since then. Orphans in Konoha were supposed to be given enough every month to pay for food, shelter, new clothes, and a bit of fun money. It turned out that Old Lady Minako charged Naruto a truly stupid overpriced amount for the crappy apartment in, as it turned out, the  _ red light district _ . It had risen steadily and rapidly  _ after _ the Hokage had arranged for Naruto to move in at a fixed, low rate. Ember really hoped that the Hokage had no idea which one of Minako’s properties she’d chosen for Naruto. After submitting the portion for rent, the tiny remainder of the envelope was typically spent quickly and effusively. Most of it on ramen for every meal.

 

“I can teach you how to cook, Naruto,” Ember said gently, focusing on one mostly-inoffensive thing about the situation versus the several rage-inducing parts. She even managed a teasing tone to add, “I thought you liked most of the foods I introduced you to?” Naruto had been a fairly steady presence at the lunch and dinner table, often loitering outside of her apartment when she got out of work. The complete lack of supervision explained that.

 

Naruto slouched in his chair and mumbled, “... but I always get kicked out and yelled at and stuff. Or they give me stuff that makes me sick.” Even as completely unwarranted shame crossed his face, he brightened like the little trooper he was. “But Ichiraku’s never makes me sick and it’s always super good, dattebayo!”

 

“ _ Oh really.” _ Ember took a deep breath. “Well, I’ll tell you something that I don’t think anyone has before, then. They are breaking all kinds of laws, both legal and morality-wise, by doing that. They absolutely shouldn’t treat you any different. They don’t even  _ know _ you, but there’s no excuse to be so hateful toward anyone, much less a kid.” She scooped him up in a hug, ignoring his surprised squeak. It had taken a lot of hugs to get to the point where he didn’t automatically flinch when she went in for one, which was yet another tally in the never-ending heartbreak column of Naruto’s life.

 

\---

Ember crossed her arms and stared at the boy on the couch. He was completely passed out, limbs akimbo and blanket half-off, but surprisingly not snoring. Whenever he decided to spend the night (more frequently than not, nowadays. Once in a while a masked nin would show up to take him back to his crappy apartment, but some nights they let him be), Naruto looked exactly like a kid his age should when asleep-- peaceful. Happy. Safe.

 

Why did the entire village seem to hate him? He was a  _ kid. _ Even if he was this universe’s Jack the Ripper he didn’t have enough time on the planet yet to be responsible for anything-- aside from the pranks, but nothing truly horrible. He was the very model of human sunshine, too. Almost always happy, cheeky, enthusiastic, and moments of incredible politeness when he was treated like a fellow human being. Ember could think of no conceivable reason that he should be discriminated against in everything he tried to do, from paying rent to buying groceries. He was even a popular target for bullying, she remembered, judging by the way they’d met and she’d been the only passerby to  _ do _ anything.

 

She’d apparently been one of the few people to do anything for him ever, actually.

 

Ember pulled the blanket back up to his chin, ruffled his hair, and resolved to do some quiet asking around.

 

\---

 

Naruto was confused when Ember came home one evening and immediately scooped him up in a hug. He yelped, trying and failing to save his place in the colorful  _ Konoha Legends _ storybook, and made a weak attempt at escape. He didn’t mean it though. Ember gave good hugs.

 

“Ember-neeeeeee! You made me lose my spot!”

 

“Sorry, Naruto-kun.” Naruto paused. Her voice was really sad, like she was gonna cry. Ember-nee was  _ never _ that sad. Sometimes she got sad when he talked about life (which didn’t make sense because that was just how things worked) but it was never bad enough to make her cry. Why would she cry? Was she giving him up and going to tell him she never wanted to see him again?

 

He panicked.

 

“What happened Ember-nee do I need to beat someone up I’m really good at throwing kunai well kinda but I hit four of the targets and Sasuke only hit three so that’s totally a win--”

 

Ember giggled. It sounded kind of wet, but Naruto couldn’t see. She was cuddling him and had her face pressed to the top of his head. He  _ could _ move, but he’d never been cuddled before and it was really nice and warm. “Thanks for the offer, kiddo. Probably shouldn’t, though. And good job today at Academy.” She actually  _ dropped a kiss on his head _ and continued talking while Naruto was in shock and on the verge of tears himself. “No, I just had a talk with one of my coworkers and they told me about some pretty terrible things that happened a long time ago when you were a baby. I can’t change anything that people have done, though, and only make things better going forward. I’m not injured or anything. Your hugs helped. Thank you.”

 

Naruto brightened. He liked helping, even if he wasn’t entirely sure how he’d done it this time. Sometimes he was just doing normal stuff and Ember would thank him or tell him he’d done a good job. She was pretty great. She even let him pick out clothes last week, and while she’d turned down some stuff he’d picked out she let him get a lot of orange clothes. He loved orange. People always noticed orange stuff, and he was gonna wear orange even when he was Hokage, dattebayo!


End file.
